The Threat Level is SEVERE. Let's just get that out of the way to begin with. If you watched any five minute span of Michigan stuffing Minnesota into a series of progressively smaller lockers, you'd come to the same conclusion that I did, which is that yeah, this is one of the best teams in the country and very likely the best team in the Big Ten.
A lot of my skepticism from previous weeks still applies; Michigan's running game is entirely reliant on one dude, their offensive line is inconsistent, they've played some of the worst teams in the country, etc. But then you remember sitting through 60 minutes of an uninspired Ohio State offense getting consistently beaten at the point of attack by freaking Maryland, and you start tucking your pants into your socks as you brace for the inevitable flood of Always-Knew-He-Had-It-In-Him Harbaugh stans making their migration to every corner of social media.
THE OFFENSE
What should really freak Ohio State fans out about Michigan beating the Golden Gophers 52-10 is how pedestrian the whole thing was. J.J. McCarthy didn't need to be brilliant (14 for 20, 219 yards), and Blake Corum didn't need to be overwhelming (9 carries, 69 yards) for the Wolverines to just absolutely annihilate Minnesota.
It was like watching a guy who can't shuffle cards cheat at poker; every time Michigan needed a seven yard run, or a successful screen pass, or a McCarthy scramble for a first down, they got it. Two interesting things emerged during this game: first, even though I don't think he's the most talented wideout on the team, Roman Wilson has emerged as the number one guy that every team should pay attention to on every obvious passing down.
Secondly, Donovan Edwards definitely got passed over in the running back depth chart. They'll still try to keep him involved in the passing game, but Kalel Mullings got twice as many carries as he did, and I expect that trend to continue.
THE DEFENSE
Minnesota's heart and soul on offense was running back Darius Taylor. Before his injury, he was the leading rusher in the conference, and to put in perspective exactly how important this dude is, he's missed two games in a row due to injury and is still the leading rusher in the conference. So, absent Taylor, a wily P.J. Fleck schemed up a brilliant gameplan that consisted entirely of "run away from defensive lineman Mason Graham while flailing your arms and screaming" and "throw two pick-sixes, for fun".
I wasn't totally sold on Michigan's defensive secondary, but that changed when Minnesota was unable to even complete a single damn pass in the second half. All told, Michigan gave up 169 yards of offense, sacked quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis seven times, and rang up the aforementioned two interceptions for touchdowns. Which... damn.
MATT WEISS DRAMATIC REENACTMENT OF THE WEEK
THREAT LEVEL
Remember, Threat Level is a reflection of how Threat Level-y Michigan is to Ohio State, and while in some past years I could maybe justify keeping Michigan lower in the meter by talking about the Buckeyes' relative parity with the Wolverines, that's simply not the case right now.
This is Harbaugh booting up the ol' Game Boy, trading with his little brother, and unlocking Haunter's secret evolution. A team full of annoyingly confident Gengars who are fully aware that they're chubby and sexy and about to get all the accolades that a national media hungry for a clear college football front-runner can hand out.
All of Michigan's strengths play directly into Ohio State's weaknesses, and while that sucks, a lot, it also means that an honest appraisal puts them at the highest possible Threat Level. At least next week Michigan might fall back to Earth a little bit against... the Indiana Hoosiers? Aw dammit.
